Receptacle supporting apparatus for textile coilers



June 6, 1967 3,323'9 EPTACLE SUPPORTING APPARATUS FOR TEXTLE COILERS a.w. Gossr-:TT et-rm.

REC

2 Sheets-Sheet Filed March 14, 1966 ....vhtw Y RT HT NE Ilful W T N AHAvf R B Muzcsc. HENSON comms June 6, 1967 E. w. GossE-r'r ETAL CEPTACLESUPPORTING APPARATUS FR TEXTLJ 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed March 14, 1966 RANTW. @www w@ MAUHICEC, Hmmm 3,323,179 RECEITACLE SUPPORTING APPARATUS FORTEXTILE COILERS Bryant W. Gossett and Maurice C. Henson, Gastonia,

N.C., assignors to Gossett Machine Works, Inc., Gasfonia, N.C., acorporation of North Carolina Filed Mar.. 14, 1966, Ser. No. 540,448 11Claims. (Cl. 19 159) This invention is a continuation-impart ofcopending patent application Ser. No. 502,045, filed Oct. 22, 1965, andrelates to textile coilers for use with carding engines, draw frames andthe like. More particularly, the invention relates to an improvedmechanism lfor rotatably supporting a receptacle in sliver-receivingposition with its bottom end substantially at, but in spaced relationto, the floor level of a building.

Conventional coilers are equipped with a base on which the 'bottom of asliver-receiving receptacle or can is supported several inches above thefioor level. This type of base is equipped with a receptacle rotatingmechanism positioned underneath the receptacle and preventing the bottomof the latter from resting at or about the floor level. When thereceptacle becomes filled, it is manually lowered to the floor level todofTed position. During recent years, however, optimum operatingefficiency has required the use of progressively larger receptacles inorder to decrease the frequency of doffing. This trend has now reachedthe point in many mills .that the increased size and weight of thereceptacles, when filled, renders manual doffing from the elevatedposition a difficult and time consuming task.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a coiler havingmeans for rotatably supporting a receptacle in sliver-receiving positionand with the bottom thereof substantially at, but unsupported by, thefloor or surface therebeneath.

It is another object of invention to provide a coiler mechanism havingmeans for rollably supporting a sliverreceiving receptacle intermediateits upper and lower ends and `with the lower end thereof disposedsubstantially at but in spaced relation to the floor level of a buildingor surface therebeneath.

It is a further object of invention to provide a coiler mechanism of thetype described in which the receptacle is rotatably suspended beneaththe coiler head, thereby eliminating the necessity of providing theconventional platform support beneath the receptacle.

It is still another object of invention to provide a mechanism of thetype described in which the receptacle is rotatably supported about itsperiphery by a plurality of rollers, in combination with a driving means-connected to at least one of said rollers.

It is yet another object of invention to provide a mechanism of the typedescribed in which means are provided for rotatably confining thereceptacle with its bottom substantially at the fioor level when insliver-receiving position, in combination with means for laterallyreleasing the receptacle from said last-named position.

Some of the objects of invention having been stated, other objects willappear as the description proceeds when taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of atextile coiler with certain portions thereof shown in section, Iandembodying our improved coiler receptacle supporting and drivingmechanism;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional plan view taken along line 2 2 in FIGURE l;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 3 3 in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is an elevational view taken along line 4 4 in FIGURE 2;

United States 1Patent FIGURE 5 is a view similar to FIGURE 1, butshowing a modified form of receptacle supporting and driving mechanismwherein the receptacle is rotatably suspended from the coiler head;

FIGURE 6 is a top plan View of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is a sectional plan View taken along line 7 7 in FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 8 is a vertical sectional View taken along lines 8 8 in FIGURES 5and 6;

FIGURE 9 is a vertical 9 9 in FIGURE 6;

FIGURE l0 is a sectional plan view taken along line 1(3 10 in FIGURE I5,and

FIGURE ll is a sectional detail View showing a modified form ofreceptacle track for engagement by the supporting rollers.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, the numeral 10 broadlydesignates a textile coiler, said coiler comprising a coiler head 11, apedestal 12, and a base 14. A strand of sliver 15 passes in a well-knownmanner from a carding engine, draw frame, or similar fiber processingmachinery (not shown), over guide 16,` then downwardly through trumpet17, between feed rolls 18, through inclined tube 19, and nally into areceptacle 20 in successive overlapping coils. Guide tube 19 is mountedupon .a tube gear 23, which gear is rotatably suspended as at 24 withinthe coiler head 11.

It will be observed that the lower end of tube 19 is eccentricallydisposed relative to the axis of rotation of sectional vie-w taken alongline gear 23 but rotatable within a horizontal projection of thereceptacle 20 therebelow, the diameter of the circle defined by thelower end of tube 19 being substantially onehalf (or slightly more) ofthe diameter `of the receptacle.

Gear 23 and its associated tube 19 are rotated by means of a series ofinterconnected elements comprising horizontal shaft 26, beveled gears 27and 28, upright shaft 29 and gear 30. Likewise, feed rolls 18 are drivenfrom the shraft 29 through beveled gears 31 and 32 and shaft 33.

Coiler base 14 comprises a substantially concavo-con- Vex casting 34having a concave diameter slightly greater than the outside diameter ofreceptacle 20, said concave surface subtending an angle greater thandegrees. The casting 34 is adapted to rest upon a flat surface such as amill floor and support the receptacle for rotation in the mannerspecifically described below.

The bottom portion of receptacle 20 has a plurality of casters 36 whichrollably support the receptacle on the mill floor. When the receptacleis in sliver-receiving position beneath the coiler head, the -bottomsurface of the receptacle and the casters 36 are preferably supportedslightly above the floor level and by means such as rollers 38, 39 and40, said rollers engaging the lower surface of a laterally extendingflange 35 integral with the periphery of receptacle 2li. Rollers 38 and39 are each rotatably mounted upon one end of a plate 50, said plates50, 50 being pivotally mounted as at 51 to the upper portion of casting34 and its swingable end portion 34a. The portion 34a is pivotallysecured as at 42 to casting 34 and may be moved from bold line to dottedline position as shown in FIGURE 2 when it is desired to remove areceptacle to or from sliver-receiving position,

It will be observed that the rollers 39 and 40 (FIGURE 2) are separatedby an arc of the receptacle periphery of less than 1S() degrees whilethe driving roller is arranged about midway the ends of the remainingarc of the receptacle periphery thereby rollably supporting andlaterally confining the receptacle in sliver-receiving position. Duringthe sliver-receiving position of the receptacle, a spring 47a yieldablyurges portion 34a and its associated roller 40 toward the receptacleperiphery and underneath flange 35.

A latching mechanism is provided (FIGURES 2 and 4) for releasablyholding portion 34a in the dotted line position, said mechanismconsisting of a hook 43 secured to portion 34a as at 43a and releasablyengageable with a lever 44 pivoted intermediate its ends as at 45 to abracket 46. The bracket 46 is secured to portion 34 by means such asbolts 46a. A spring 47 yieldably urges one end of lever 44 intoengagement with hook 43 when portion 34a is swung to the dotted lineposition.

Rollers 38, 39 and 40 are each laterally adjustable so as to adjust thevertical rotational axis of receptacle 20 relative to the rotationalaxis of the tube gear 23 there- Iabove. Thus each plate 50 andassociated roller 39 or 40 fis held in adjusted position by means ofstud bolt 52 -which penetrates slot 53 in the plate. Likewise, drivingroller 38 is rotatably mounted -on a plate 56 which is lat- `erally andangularly adjustable with reference to upright shaft 29 (FIG. 2). Itwill be observed that plate 56 has arcuate slots 57 and 58 thereinpenetrated respectively by stud bolts 59 and 60, said bolts beingthreadably secured in casting 34 therebelow.

Roller 38 is rotated in timed relation to the rotation of eccentricallydisposed tube gear 23 thereabove by a series of interconnected elementsconsisting of beveled gears 63 and 64, shaft 65, worm 66 and worm gear67. A bracket 68 rotatably supports members 64, 65 and 66, said bracket68 being mounted for lateral angular adjustment relative to shaft 29 bymeans of stud bolts 7d penetrating arcuate slots 71 in the bracket andthreadably secured in the base casting 34. Thus the roller 38 and theelements driving the latter may be laterally adjusted to conform to thedesired position of the rollably supported receptacle 20.

FIGURES through 1() show a modified form of the invention in which asliver-receiving receptacle 28a is rotatably suspended from the housingof a coiler a with the receptacle bottom disposed in spaced relation tothe o-or thereby eliminating the C-shaped casting 34 employed in thepreceding form of invention which served both as a coiler base and as asupport for the rollers 38, 39 and 4t). Specifically, the housingreferred to above consists of a spectacle plate 77, a bonnet 79vand apedestal upper section 12a.

The suspension means for receptacle a c-omprises a circular flange aextending horizontally and around the upper peripheral portion of thereceptacle, rollers 72, 73, 74 and 75 engageable with the lower surfaceof said fiange, and brackets or plates 72a, 73a, 74a and 75a to whichthe rollers 72, 73, 74 and 75 respectively are attached.

Bracket 74a has its upper end rigidly secured to spectacle plate 77 bymeans of bolts 78 (FIGURES 5 and 6). In a similar manner, bracket 75a isrigidly secured to bonnet 79 by bolts 80, said bonnet being pivotallysecured as at 81. Bracket 73a has its upper end pivotally secured bymeans of pin 83 to a second bracket 84 which, in turn, is secured tobonnet 79 by bolts 85 (FIGURES 5, 6 and 8).

It will be noted that pin 83 is xedly secured to bracket 73a and has anarcuate segment 87 xedly secured on one end thereof. This segment hasspaced edge notches 88 and 88a therein adapted to be selectively engagedby a pawl -89 pivoted as at 90 to bracket 84. In the bold line positionof bracket 73a and roller 73 in FIGURE 8, the pawl 89 engages notch 88to latch the parts in suspending position relative to the receptacle.When it is desired to doif or replace the receptacle 20a, the bracket73a and roller 73 are latched in the dotted line position so that thereceptacle 20a may move laterally to or from inserted position. As thereceptacle moves laterally from inserted to dolfed position, the flange35a slides laterally from rollers 72, 74 and 75 to thereby permit thereceptacle 20u to be lowered slightly so that its supporting casterswill rest upon the oor 99.

Notches 77a and 77b are provided in the opposite edges of spectacleplate 77 (FIGURES 8 and 9) which permit rollers 73 and 75 to pass,upwardly therethrough when the bonnet 79 is rotated in acounterclockwise manner i about its pivot 81 for the purpose ofinspecting the inside of the coiler head 11a.

R-oller 72 serves both as a support and as a driving element forrotating receptacle 20a, said roller being xedly secured on one end of ashaft 92 journalled in the bracket 72a. Bolts 86 are employed to secure`bracket 72a t-o upper pedestal section 12a. The other end of shaft 92has beveled gear 93 fixedly secured thereon, the latter gear meshingwith beveled gear 94 on upright shaft 29a. Shaft 29a is shorter thanpreviously described shaft 29 of the first form of the invention but itoperates substantially in the same manner. Thus the driving roller orwheel 72 is driven 4by interconnected elements 26, 27, 28, 29a, 94, 93and 92 as shown in FIGURE 5.

The upper pedestal section 12a is secured as at 96 to coiler head 11a bymeans of bolts. Similarly, the lower end of section 12a is secured tothe upper end of bottom pedestal section 12b by means of bolts 97(FIGURES 5 and 10). The lower end of section 12b has integral therewitha laterally extending base plate 98 which is anchored to Hoor 99 bysuitable means such as anchor bolts 100. Angular adjustment Vof coilerhead 11a and the attached top pedestal section 12a relative to thebottom pedestal section 12b may be obtained by removing bolts 97, thenturning the assembled members 11a and 12a to the desired position, andagain bolting the sections 12a and 12b together. This adjustment featuremakes it possible to easily convert the mechanism disclosed in FIGURES 5through 10 into either a right-hand or a left-hand coiler.

FIGURE 11 shows a modified form of laterally extending receptacle ange3511 for supporting a sliver-receiving receptacle Ztlb on the rollers73, 74, 75 and 72, said flange 35a being secured around the periphery ofthe receptacle and having a downturned rim 35e integral with its outeredge thereby providing an inverted annular groove or track for confiningthe rollers in position during rotation of the can or receptacle.

In all forms of the invention, the driving means and the -means forrotatably supporting the receptacle in sliver-receiving position isdisposed above the bottom end `of the receptacle in order that thebottom end may be disposed the minimum distance above the floor level toprevent substantial resistance to rotation. Obviously, the bottom of thereceptacle, or its supporting rollers 36 could touch the floor level aslong as the latter contact does not serve as a support. By having thebottom of the receptacle, or the supporting casters 36, located in closeproximity to the floor level, it is possible t-o easily insert or removea heavily laden container to and from sliverreceiving position. The termbottom of the receptacle designates the lower peripheral extremities ofcasters 36 where the latter are present, and the bottom edge of thereceptacle in installations where casters are not employed.

In the forms of invention shown in FIGURES 5 through 11, the rollers 72through 75 are rotatably mounted on axes disposed substantially normalto the vertical axis of the receptacle. Moreover, the space between theb-ottom of the receptacle, or the supporting casters 36, is less thanone-half the diameter of either of the rollers 72, 74 or 75. Thus, whenan empty receptacle is moved laterally from the floor 99 tosliver-receiving position, the bottom of lateral annular ange 35a or 35bwill first engage the upper half of each roller 72 and 75 and furtherlateral movement of the receptacle will cause the flange to ride on topof the rollers as the latter rotate. Likewise, when doffing a filledreceptacle the rollers 72 and 75 will permit the receptacle to begradually lowered from its slightly elevated position to the oor levelwithout exertion of substantial lateral thrust.

What we claim as new and desire to obtain by Letters Patent of theUnited States is set forth in the following claims:

1. In combination, a textile coiler having means for feeding a sliverstrand or the like downwardly therethrough, all Upright receptacle forreceiving said strand, means including a plurality of rollers disposedintermediate the upper and lower ends of said receptacle for rotatablyconlining the latter in strand-receiving position, and means includingone of said rollers for rotating said receptacle, the axes of rotationof said rollers being disposed transversely of the axis of rotation ofsaid receptacle.

2. In combination, a textile sliver coller having means for feeding acontinuous sliver strand downwardly therethrough, a receptacle forreceiving said strand, a floor having a level upper surface disposed`beneath and extending laterally from the bottom of the receptacle, andmeans disposed above the bottom of the receptacle for rotatablysupporting the latter substantially at said upper surface.

3. The combination as deiined in claim 2 and further comprising drivingmeans frictionally connected to the receptacle periphery for rotatingthe receptacle.

4. The combination as defined in claim 2 wherein the receptaclesupporting means includes a plurality of rollers respectively mountedfor rotation upon axes disposed transversely of the axis of rotation ofthe receptacle, and an annular flange surrounding the receptacle andextending transversely of said last-named axis, said flange beingrollably contacted by said rollers.

5. The combination as defined in claim 4 wherein means are provided forlaterally releasing at least one of said rollers to permit thereceptacle to be moved to and from strand-receiving position on theremaining unreleased rollers.

6. The combination as defined in claim 5 wherein the lower surface ofsaid ilange engages the upper peripheries of said rollers, and whereinthe difference between the distance from said lower tlange surface tosaid floor level on one hand, and the distance from said flange surfaceto the bottom extremity of the receptacle on the other, is less thanone-half the diameter of either of said unreleased rollers.

7. In combination a textile sliver coller, a vertically disposedsliver-receiving receptacle having an open upper end and a closed lowerend, and means for rotatably suspending said receptacle insliver-receiving position from said coller, said means including ahorizontally disposed trackway secured to and encircling saidreceptacle, and a plurality of rollers engageable with said tracliway tosupport the receptacle and the received sliver for rotation about itsvertical axis.

S. The combination as defined in claim 7 wherein said trackway comprisesa channel member' having a pair of spaced parallel laterally extendinglianges, and wherein the peripheral portions of said rollers lit in saidspace between the ilanges, said rollers being rotatable upon axessubstantially normal to the ilanges.

9. The combination as defined in claim 7 wherein said traekway comprisesa flange extending laterally from the receptacle and wherein saidrollers are engageable with the lower surface of said ange.

itl. The combination as dened in claim 9 wherein the axes of rotation ofsaid rollers are substantially parallel to said lower iiauge surface.

lli.. The combination as defined in claim 9 wherein the axes of rotation`of said rollers are substantially normal to said lower flame surface.

References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 3,221,374V l2/l965 Fornes 19-159FGRElGN PATENTS 954,414 4/1964 Great Britain. 968,971 9/1964 GreatBritain.

MERVIN STEN, Primary Examine/' I. C. WADDEY, Assistant Examiner'.

1. IN COMBINATION, A TEXTILE COILER HAVING MEANS FOR FEEDING A SILVERSTRAND OR THE LIKE DOWNWARDLY THERETHROUGH, AN UPRIGHT RECEPTACLE FORRECEIVING SAID STRAND, MEANS INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF ROLLERS DISPOSEDINTERMEDIATE THE UPPER AND LOWER ENDS OF SAID RECEPTACLE FOR ROTATABLYCONFINING THE LATTER IN STRAND-RECEIVING POSITION, AND MEANS INCLUDINGONE OF SAID ROLLERS FOR ROTATING SAID RECEPTACLE, THE AXES OF ROTATIONOF SAID ROLLERS BEING DISPOSED TRANSVERSELY OF THE AXIS OF ROTATION OFSAID RECEPTACLE.